Sure Sign Of Spring – The First “Saltie” Of The Year Arrives In Duluth

This is a sure sign that Spring is here to stay. The first oceangoing vessel of the 2011 shipping season arrived in the Port of Duluth-Superior this morning. The Cyprus-flagged Federal Leda (Lee-da) sailed beneath the Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge at 7:10 a.m.

Her arrival marked the first saltwater vessel (“saltie”) into the Twin Ports this year to have transited the Great Lake St. Lawrence Seaway system. Do you know when the earliest arrival of a "Saltie in Duluth was?" Find out the answer after the break.

This year’s “first saltie” arrived just four days later than her sister ship did last year (Federal Elbe on April 7, 2010); the Port’s earliest recorded arrival of an oceangoing vessel was the Indian ship LT Argosy on April 1, 1995.